Elissa is a professional content writer with a certification in inbound marketing, BA in history, and a decade of experience in retail sales and marketing.
Stop and think about one of your favorite childhood items, your school backpack. Try to recall the different styles you have sported over the years. Did you go through a superhero phase in elementary school? How did your backpacks' style change when you entered high school? As you start to answer these questions, you'll begin to recall more specific moments that influenced you.
Now, think back to one of those moments. Let's assume a childhood friend of yours had a backpack that really spoke to you. What could have influenced him to want that backpack? Did he watch a commercial during Saturday morning cartoons? Were all the kids at school showing up with them? Maybe his parents wanted a backpack where the proceeds went to charity.
What do all these moments have in common? They are examples of situations that encouraged someone to want something. Marketing is the process of creating that want. As you retrace more steps, you'll find that marketing has a significant impact on your life.
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Marketing is comprised of techniques that are used to make people aware of new products. Products can be physical, a service, or virtual, which means they can be anything from video games to gym memberships. It's the job of marketers to sell these products through the use of marketing tools, like internet ads, viral video commercials, blogs, and product placements in TV shows.
When you buy and consume products of any kind, that makes you a consumer. Marketing speaks to you as a consumer and seeks to fulfill your needs from that perspective. For example, 5-minute microwave dinners may fulfill your need to make a balanced meal fast; a pint of chocolate ice cream may satisfy your craving for an after-work treat; or an art book for beginners may be just what you need to finally learn how to draw.
As illustrated, marketing has a direct impact on you as a consumer. It's the force behind the concept of consumerism, which seeks to continuously drive the practice of buying and selling in increased amounts. As you break this down even more, you'll find that marketing has a significant impact on other aspects of your life, such as your personal style, book tastes, favorite movies, and hobbies.
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Have you ever purchased a product because you liked the values it stood for? Did half of the proceeds go to animal rights activism? Was it manufactured with green energy? Were the ingredients strictly organic? Personal values are those beliefs and ideals that are important to you. Examples of personal values can include honesty, kindness to animals, environmentalism, fairness, veganism, and political principles.
Brands understand that your personal values are important to you, and one step toward building trust with you is to speak to your values. That's why businesses often invest in charitable projects, like tree planting, kids sports' sponsorships, and world hunger. They may even endorse presidential candidates that align with your political beliefs or companies that use eco-friendly materials in their products. These are all examples of marketing and how businesses will incorporate personal values into their marketing strategies to make an impact on your buying decisions. As you continue to buy from brands that speak to your personal values, those values strengthen which leads to long-term brand loyalty.
Marketing has a significant impact on buying decisions and personal values, but it also impacts social status. A social status is a person's position within a group. The job of marketing is to make you want something, and one of the tools companies use to sell their products is to your perception of status. For example, a TV commercial for a medical training program may advertise that their program could lead to a higher paying job, which would suggest an increase in social status for the consumer. Improved social status is incorporated strongly into fashion marketing as well, suggesting that if you can dress the part then you can live the part.
Marketing creates close connections between brands and people based on consumer needs, social status, and personal values. Marketing can be as loud as a flashy TV commercial or as subtle as organic product packaging. As you continue to invest in products that fulfill your consumer needs, improve your status, and speak to your values, marketing will continue to do its part in reinforcing those elements in your life. This creates a cycle of influence and reinforcement which gives marketing significant power to shape people and society.
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